pioneer 2009 03 09

By Stephen SossamonEditor

Many professors have turned to technology as a means of enhancing the learning experience.

Not only is technology used in the classroom, but also as a means of extending the classroom into cyberspace.

Biology professor Richard Trout said he’s a fan of most technological gadgets and zones.

“I have a Facebook account, MySpace, private web-sites, Angel, college website and a Blackberry phone that students can call or text message,” he said in an e-mail message.

“The text messaging is very popular for communicating with students.”

Angel, the college’s stan-dard platform for online courses, is a tool many professors are using. Once a student logs on, he or she can do many things, from getting homework assign-ments and homework help, to blogging with the profes-sor and classmates.

“I have started to use Angel for all my in-person class-es,” said psychology professor Yuthika Kim in an e-mail message.

”From what I have seen, the students love it.”He said he uses Angel daily and his students e-mail him

daily. “It’s a great system if used right,” he said.English professor Jon Inglett said he uses text messag-

ing as a tool when he isn’t near a computer.“Text messaging is not mandatory, but an extra system

to communicate with my students,” he said in an e-mail. “I tell my students that I will not answer the phone to numbers I do not know, but if they write me a message and tell me their name and course, I will then hold a conversation with them.

“There are times a student will do that and then say, ‘Please call me, too.’ I then can call my students and create that person-to-person relationship in my online courses.”

Inglett said he figured since he was already paying for unlimited text messaging for his family, he might as well use it as a communicative tool with students.

“I have even answered messages while watching a movie or away at a conference,” he said. “Text messaging is the future of education.”

English professor Mark

“The text messaging is very popular for

communicating with students.”

—Richard TroutBiology Professor

IONEERPOklahoma City Community College

www.occc.edu/pioneer

• Being involved beneficial, editorial, p. 2.• Spring break ideas, destinations, p. 7.• Swagga’ remains undefeated, sports, p. 8.• Health Professions active, clubs, p. 10.

This WeekInside

March 9, 2009

Vol. 37 No. 24

By Matt BishopStaff Writer

It’s never too early to enroll in the 2009 sum-

mer and fall classes.Returning students may

begin enrolling March 30, said Enrollment Manage-ment Dean Gloria Cárde-nas Barton.

“This early start on en-rollment allows returning students their best op-portunity to get into the exact classes they may be needing for completing their degree or certificate,” Barton said.

Students who have been enrolled in classes before may enroll on MineOnline.

Scientifically speaking

Left to Right: Students Francisca Kilonzo and Tae Hee Cho work to identify an unknown organism as part of their Microbiology assignment. Biology professor Ron Scribner teaches their class and they perform various experiments throughout the semester.

Photo by Joseph Moore

Professors using technology to enhance classes

Enrollment begins March 30 However, Cardenas-Barton said, there are some class-es that may need instruc-tor permission.

Some students may be restricted to a certain number of hours and also, some may need transfer credits posted to their re-cord before they are able to enroll online, she said.

Cardenas-Barton said those students will need to enroll in person at the En-rollment Center, located on the first floor of the Main Building.

Business major Clay Walker said MineOnline makes the enrollment pro-cess much easier.

“I just login and select

my classes,” Walker said. “It takes me about 10 min-utes if I know what classes I need.”

New students are eligible to start enrolling the fol-lowing week, April 6.

Students who haven’t previously attended OCCC will not be able to enroll through MineOnline be-cause they must first be admitted to the college.

Those students may fill out and submit an on-line application, or enroll in person at the office of Recruitment and Admis-sions where they will meet with an admissions ad-

From Angel to texting, students have more options for communicating

See “Technology,” page 12 See “Enroll,” page 12

2 • PIONEER • March 9, 2009

Editorial and OpinionEditorial

The PIONEER is a publica-tion of Oklahoma City Com-munity College through the Division of Arts and Humani-ties. It is published weekly during the fall and spring semesters and the eight-week summer session.

All opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

The PIONEER welcomes let-ters to the editor and encour-ages the use of this publication as a community forum. All let-ters must include the author’s name, address, phone number and signature. However, the PIONEER will withhold the name if the request is made in writing. The PIONEER has the right to edit all letters and submissions for length, libel and obscenity.

Letters to the editor can be delivered to the PIONEER of-fice, mailed to: Pioneer Editor, 7777 S. May, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73159 or faxed to 405-682-7843.

Letters may also be e-mailed to [email protected]. A phone number for verification must be included.

The PIONEER can be ac-cessed on the Internet at: www.occc.edu/pioneer.

Color printing this semester is paid for, in part, from a grant from OPUBCO Communica-tions Group.

Vol. 37 No. 20Stephen Sossamon..................EditorMatt Bishop......................Staff WriterChristina Barger...............Staff WriterJustin Combs...................Staff WriterBishal Malla.......................Staff WriterKenny Hilburn..........PhotographerCynthia Praefke...........Ad ManagerBrian Stansberry..........WebmasterJohn Weis.....................Online EditorLuke Carter......................WorkstudyChris Lusk...............Lab AssistantRonna Austin.............Lab DirectorSue Hinton...............Faculty Adviser

Clubs good for now, later

Deadline for AIDS art May 1To the editor:

AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City is accepting full-color T-shirt and poster designs for its annual 2009 walk, which will take place Sun-day, Oct. 11, at the Myriad Botanical Gardens.

The deadline for sub-missions is May 1.

The winning design will be featured on the 2009 T-shirt and poster. A commit-tee will select the winning design in May.

AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City is a non-profit org-an-ization which exists to build awareness about HIV/AIDS and to raise funds to sup-port the work of non-profit organizations in the great-er Oklahoma com-munity that provide HIV/AIDS di-rect care, support services and education.

Since 1998, AIDS Walk

of Oklahoma City has dis-tributed nearly $400,000 to HIV/AIDS non-profit organizations serving the greater OKC community through direct health ser-vices, HIV/AIDS education and prevention and com-munity awareness.

Thousands of people liv-ing in our community have benefited from the funds raised through AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City.

Please submit your full-color design in a JPEG, TIF, or PDF format via e-mail to [email protected] or call Heather Walter at 405-416-0327 for more infor-mation.

A person may submit more than one design.

This year’s T-shirt color will be red. The designer must incorporate a red rib-bon — the universal sym-

bol of AIDS awareness — somewhere in the design.

For more information about AIDS Walk of Okla-homa City, visit www.aid-swalkokc.org.

—Heather WalterAIDS Walk of

Oklahoma City

Involvement in campus clubs and associations will not only help students in the present, but also in their future career.

Students get involved for various reasons.Some want to be active and grow their leader-

ship skills, whereas others want to fill up their résumés to help them in finding a future job.

But, when people join clubs and promise to be active, but fail to do so, it leads to the downfall of the club.

Being involved means being aware too.A recent example has been seen at OCCC. A

student who asked to remain anonymous said he attended the regular meeting of a club. There were only five students and none of the officers were present during the meeting except the club president.

“The program which was scheduled in a few weeks has been canceled due to the inactiveness of the club members,” the student said.

Among its offerings, OCCC lists two honor so-cieties, three religious organizations, 17 depart-mental clubs and 13 special interest organiza-tions.

Some clubs do not have any active officers and members.

It is important for students to be active in their clubs, once they promise to do so.

One way to make club officers and members ac-tive is holding a regular meeting every week and making the meetings mandatory for every officer and member.

The activities the clubs hold also play a vital role in the involvement of its members.

There will be more chances of active participa-tion when there are interesting and entertaining events inside the club.

Hispanic Organization to Promote Education Club (HOPE) is one among the active clubs at OCCC, which offers its members field trips, fund-raising events and scholarships.

OCCC President Paul Sechrist encourages stu-dents to get involved in clubs and associations because it provides a way for students to get in-volved with campus life outside the classroom.

He believes students who are connected to the campus in other ways than just attending class tend to have high success rates in terms of stay-ing in college and graduating.

So it’s good for students to be prepared to serve the college and community in some ways rather than just including their name and title in some positions of the club.

After all, organizations are not only the medi-ums to fill up résumés but also the place to do something better for the students, college, com-munity and country.

—Bishal MallaStaff Writer

do you tweet?the pioneer is now registered at twitter.com

follow us!

www.twitter.com/OCCCPioneer

March 9, 2009 • PIONEER • 3

Comments and Reviews

Beware of AMAX Services CenterI recently had

problems with my Gateway laptop and took it to a local re-pair service called AMAX PC Services Center, located just off of south Western Ave-nue on Straka Terrace.

I dropped my laptop off to be repaired Feb. 2 and was informed that it would take 2 to 3 days if they had the part in stock, and no more than a week-and-a-half if they had to order a part.

After two weeks, I called to check on the status of my repair, believing they had the time to repair it.

I was informed they had

If you have a preference for fast-paced detective shows, put “Saving Grace” on your must-see list for Monday nights at 9 p.m. on TNT.

The series stars Academy Award-winner Holly Hunt-er as an intense Oklahoma City police detective with a stormy private life.

Hunter’s character, Grace Hanadarko, had reached the darkest point in her life last season and she cried out for help.

Her help came in the form of an unusual angel prodding her conscience and appearing to her in her house and her dreams.

Leon Rippy plays Earl, the tobacco-chewing an-gel.

Recently, Rippy and se-ries creator and producer Nancy Miller were in Okla-homa City on a promotion-al tour.

The attending audience of about 75 guests includ-ed football legend Barry Switzer.

Attendees were given a sneak preview of the new-est episode of “Saving Grace.”

Guests were then given the opportunity to ask Mill-er and Rippy questions.

‘Saving Grace’ has local flavorAsked whether the series

is set in Oklahoma because she is a native, Miller an-swered honestly.

“I got tired of seeing all these shows about police from Los Angeles, Miami and New York,” she said. “OKC has a great police force too.”

“I wanted this set in the Biblebelt, because it is about the redemption of a life.”

Miller said she chose Hunter as her star be-cause she was confident in Hunter’s ability to become the feisty Grace.

“I looked at the list of prospects and said ‘Holly Hunter, yes. She can do this.’”

Rippy also was chosen because he fit the image Miller had in her mind for the role of the angel.

“He looks like an Earl, doesn’t he?” Miller said.

Rippy’s first feature film was “Firestarter” in 1984. He later played Tom Nuttal in the HBO series “Dead-wood.”

Rippy said it took a leap of faith for him to become an actor.

“I stepped out in faith, and here I am,” he said.

Rippy and Hunter are

joined by an outstand-ing cast which includes Kenneth Johnson (“The Shield”) as Graces partner, and Lauren San Giacomo (“Just Shoot Me”) as her best friend.

With guest stars such as Christina Ricci lined up to appear in four episodes, and Millers’s mind full of new ideas, “Saving Grace” has what it takes to be around for more seasons.

This is not a show for small children or the faint of heart because of its real-ism. It is a show for those who enjoy good entertain-ment and a variety of story lines.

Rating: A—Cynthia Praefke

Staff Writer

ordered the wrong part but had already ordered the correct one.

Another week passed and I called again.

I was informed the part was not in and I was again asked to wait.

After almost a month, on Friday, Feb. 27, just before 3 p.m., I went by AMAX to check on the status of my computer. I was informed that it still had not been repaired.

Frustrated, I asked for

my computer back. Unfortunately, the employee on duty could not find my power cable.

Yet again I was asked to wait. I

was informed the owner, who had originally looked at my computer, would be there at 3 p.m. and would know where the cord was.

At 3:45, he finally arrived. He apparently had decided to run some errands before arriving. He quickly found my power cord and I left.

I was never informed of changes in the schedule of my repair.

No apology was ever of-fered for the time I was

without my computer, or the order of the incorrect part, or to the better part of the hour I spent waiting because the worker there couldn’t find my power cable.

When I decided to can-cel my order, no offer was

made to save my busi-ness.

I will never attempt to utilize their services again, and I hope no one else does either.

Rating: F —Luke Carter

Staff Writer

Starting March 30, if you are a current OCCC student, you can enroll for your summer and fall classes.

Why should that matter to you? Because you have a chance to beat the crowds, get advised, get into the classes you want and be prepared for the upcoming semesters. Start today.

Now, I know that you have many options on where to go for advice, and friends seem to be a popular choice. While you may trust your friend’s opinion when suggesting a nice restaurant to take a date to or what outfit looks best to wear on that date, I encourage you to seek more professional advising when creating your Academic Plan. And, as returning students, you can use MineOnline to enroll anytime after March 30 from any computer — even in your pajamas.

In case you are not familiar with it, here is what the Academic Advising Office at OCCC has to of-fer:

• Academic Advisers. Come in, meet with an adviser and get help planning your future. The ad-visers offer general information as it pertains the course offerings and your degree program. They have the most up to date information on courses and degree plans, and they will help when plan-ning your schedule — more so than your friends.

• Peer Advisers. Get advice from peers who have been trained by the best. Our peer advisers are students just like you, so they have the inside scoop on classes and professors. The peer advis-ers also can show you how to use MineOnline to register for your courses.

• Faculty Advisers. Have you already chosen a major? Confirm your major in Academic Advising and you will be assigned a faculty adviser. The faculty adviser is a great resource for you as you work through your major coursework. They will help you make more specific degree and career related decisions.

—Sara McElroyTransfer and Academic Advising

Coordinator

Correction: The Pioneer reported Michelle Hanley as a librarian in the March 2 edition of the “You Asked For It”

column. Hanley is a student assistant in the library. The Pioneer regrets the error.


Wellness fair aims to promote healthier campus this month

Mayor Cornett to speak on leadership and development

Read the Pioneer Online for breaking news


“We’re looking at total health and wellness, from what you eat to how much sleep you get

and activities you do daily.” —Mary Turner

Learning Suppert Specialist

By Justin CombsStaff Writer

March is National Nutri-tion Month and OCCC will be holding a Health and Wellness Fair to help pro-mote a healthier campus.

The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednes-day, March 11, in College Union rooms 2 and 3.

This is the first time OCCC has done a health and wellness fair, said Mary Turner, Learning Support specialist.

It is free and open to staff, students and people of the community.

Turner said Student Support Services and the health and wellness

By Jack ChinnNews Writing Student

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett will speak to OCCC students on the topic of Leadership and Community Development at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 12, in College Union 1 and 2.

Katie Treadwell, Student Life programs coordinator, said Cornett will explain why it is important to be engaged with your com-munity.

She said he also will talk about the importance of education. Cornett will speak as a part of the Campus Voices Student Life Lecture Series.

Over the past few years,

task force are organizing the fair because OCCC President Paul Sechrist is pushing for a healthier campus.

Turner said various health awareness activi-ties will be going on, with experts talking about dif-ferent aspects of health and wellness.

Health screenings will be a part of the mix.

For this reason, free blood pressure checks will be among the many ser-vices offered at the Health and Wellness Fair, per-formed by OCCC Emer-gency Medical Services students.

“The Recreation and Fit-ness department will be

set up in the union area demonstrating different exercise classes the col-lege offers,” Turner said.

There already is a walk-ing trail marked inside the building.

It starts outside the president’s office and mea-sures 1.04 miles, Turner said.

Risk Management Coor-dinator Lisa Vaughn said there are five areas they want to focus on.

“We are wanting to em-phasis smoking cessa-tion, healthy eating, exer-cise and activity, mental health/stress reduction and substance abuse,” Vaughn said in an e-mail.

Turner said the fair will also have information on sexual health.

“RAIN Oklahoma will be there to talk about HIV

and sexual health,” she said.

“Others include people from the Mental Health De-partment, the City-County Health Department, Crisis Pregnancy Center and An-gel Food Ministries.

“We’re looking at total health and wellness, from what you eat to how much sleep you get and activi-ties you do daily.”

There will also be people available with informa-tion on how to do a proper self-test for breast cancer, Vaughn said.

She also said employees

who attend will be able to sign up at the OCCC wellness booth and re-ceive credit for their third quarter health and safety training.

“There will also be a small theater set up where videos can be viewed on different topics you can do to get healthy,” Vaughn said.

Health Fair Committee members include: Jenna Howard, Stephanie Scott, Turner and Vaughn.

Staff Writer Justin Combs can be reached at [email protected].

Cornett has overseen many changes in his city.

Oklahoma City has expe-rienced rapid growth and reinvention, which helped it to get the NBA basket-ball team, now called the Thunder, to relocate from Seattle, Wash.

According to Oklahoma City’s website — www.okc.gov — Cornett made the relocation of the Thunder one of his fundamental priorities.

His other top priority is-sue has been job develop-ment and improving the health of Oklahoma City’s citizens.

On Dec. 31, 2007, Cor-nett put Oklahoma City on a diet. He committed to joining the city in dieting

Mick Cornett

and since then, he has lost 38 pounds.

According to the website vwww.thiscityisgoingona-diet.com, the mayor set a goal of one million pounds to be lost by the residents of Oklahoma City.

As of March 3, city resi-dents have lost 319,937 pounds.

Cornett is Oklahoma City’s 35th mayor.


By Taryn FowlerNews Writing Student

Art professor Carolyn Farris will teach a new eight-week class, Under-standing Art in OKC, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Thursday starting March 26, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Ferris said her philoso-phy is that there is no bet-ter place to study art than an art museum. She said the course will not be a standard lecture class.

“I will be more of a guide that breaks down the dif-ferent areas of the art from the method, content, art-ist, and perspective,” Far-ris said. “I will also help the students understand their own perception of the art.”

Students looking for a humanities requirement are encouraged to take the class.

Retired prof to teach ‘Art in OKC’ downtown

Understanding Art in OKC will count as a hu-manities course for stu-dents earning an associate degree, said Jimmie Sue Baker, Downtown College Consortium secretary.

Farris is an artist in her own right.

She assisted Mary Ann Moore, visual arts profes-sor, in the mosaic project for Bricktown Canal by creating the illustration for the mosaic.

Farris said her love of art began when she received her first set of art tools at the age of 12.

She began teaching in 1981 as an adjunct in-structor at OCCC.

She retired as a full-time professor in 2005, but she said she decided to get back into teaching because of her love for art and teaching.

“I want to broaden the

student’s appreciation for art,” Farris said.

By viewing different types of art, students can better understand their percep-tion of art by educating themselves, she said.

“If you can love the diver-sity of art, you can love the diversity of people,” Farris said.

The course will include discussions with guest speakers including Debby Williams, who will speak on art in public places.

The class also will take field trips to view art in other locations, including a visit to the Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC, Farris said.

The class will coincide with the Harlem Renais-sance exhibit, which is the featured show at the mu-seum at this time.

The Harlem Renaissance show focuses on African American art during the 1920s and ’30s. Some of the artists included in the exhibit are James Latimer Allen, Romare Bearden and Addison Sculock.

To enroll in Understand-ing Art in OKC, please con-tact the Downtown College Consortium at 405-232-3382 or visit their website www.downtowncollege.com.

This photo composite of a diver competing at the Moun-tain West Conference Swimming and Diving Champion-ships was taken using a stop frame technique. The MWC Swimming and Diving Championships was held Feb. 25 through 28 in the Aquatic Center. This was the ninth year OCCC has hosted the championships.

Photo illustration provided by Michael Reeves

Perfect form

Carolyn Farris


Follow us!WWW.OCCC.EDU/PIONEER


Students sound off on OCCC debit cardBy Morgan HillNews Writing Student

Some students say they had problems with the OCCC debit card but most say the situation smoothed out eventually.

This is the first full se-mester for the OCCC debit card. The card serves as the only mechanism for transferring money — such as financial aid or payment refunds — from the college to students.

All OCCC students should have received their card by now, said Brandi Henson, bursar.

Henson explained the reason for having this new card is to go paperless, sending funds directly to an account. This makes it unnecessary to write or mail paper checks.

The University of Central Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma and Oklaho-ma State University now are among those using their own debit cards.

For some students, the biggest problem was get-ting the card.

That was the case for Ryan New, a pre-law ma-jor.

Although the card is supposed to arrive auto-matically in the mail, that didn’t happen for New.

The school had the wrong mailing address and he had to go to Records and give them the new one.

New said he waited for a couple more weeks before his card arrived.

Once he had the debit card, using it to access his financial aid was easy, New said.

Some students had oth-er problems.

“It was difficult to acti-vate the card,” said Day-shawn Burns, psychology major.

Burns said she had to go to the Bursar’s Office for help, instead of activating the card online.

“I had no other problems with the card,” she said. “But I do not like the fact that it charges an overdraw

fee on Pell grant money.”Burns said she misread

her account balance and thought she had more money to spend than she did.

Another student also had trouble determining the correct account bal-ance because the amount shown may not include purchases made in the previous day.

To find the precise bal-ance, students must check recent transactions to be sure all the charges have been subtracted — like most bank accounts.

“The transaction went well, but you thought it automatically took the money off the card when checking the bank state-ment online,” said Essence Harris, business major.

Some students had oth-er thoughts.

Marketing major Roder-ick Wright said the Bursar should make the card op-tional instead of so man-datory.

Other students said they wished the debit card was issued by a local bank.

The OCCC debit card is teamed up with Higher One, a financial service company based out of Connecticut.

Henson said the reason OCCC went with Higher One instead of a local bank is because Higher One was the only company to re-spond to the proposal the school sent out.

Henson said the debit card is the only way stu-dents will receive refunds or aid payments from

OCCC, so they need to ac-tivate their card as soon as possible.

If students have a hard time using the card, they should call the number on the back of the card, she said.

Henson said although every OCCC student will receive a card, and they need to activate it, stu-dents do not have to use the account.

When students are acti-vating the card, they may choose to have Higher One transfer the money directly to the student’s personal bank account, she said.

Or, students can choose to leave the money on the debit card and have Higher One serve as their bank.

Henson said students can make free withdraw-als from Higher One ATMs on campus. One is near the Welcome Desk and the other is located in the lob-by of the library.

“We want to get the mon-ey to students faster,” she said.

Henson said one ben-efit about the OCCC debit card was that it eliminated unnecessary charges.

“We got lots of com-plaints about students that were paying fees to get the check cashed,” she said.

All the details about us-ing the card, getting re-funds or setting up a bank account with Higher One can be found online, Hen-son said.

For more information on the OCCC debit card, visit www.occcdebitcard.com.

Some say the card is difficult to activate; others wish a local bank was involved

“I lost my card. It costs $20 to get a new one, but if I had one, I’d probably use it.”

—Krystal Jones, visual arts major

“I threw mine away. I had no

intention (of) using it. It’s just one more

thing to take care of.”

—Moses Barrie, history major

“It’s faster getting money back from financial aid and it’s all on that card. It’s nice because I can just pay school expenses all from that account.”

—Jenny Atteberry, diversified studies

major

“I have one and use it because

it’s easier to put [financial aid

money] in it. I don’t just use it for

school purposes, sometimes I use it

for lunch.”—Dustin Jones,

pre-med major

Your thoughts on the new debit card?


Turner Falls — a beautiful park with many outdoor activities available. Located in the Arbuckle Mountains, it is Oklahoma’s oldest park. It is also home to the state’s largest waterfall.

The park is filled with picnic areas, nature trails, caves, geological wonders and two natural swimming pools. Cabins also are available to rent.

Turner Falls is located on I-35 and Highway 77, near Davis. The park is about 77 miles from OCCC and it takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there.

Tickets are $3.50 for adults, $3 for seniors, and children under 5 get in free. For more information, or to rent a cabin, call 580-369-2988.

By Derek JonesStaff Writer

For students feeling weighed down by the stress of school, a well-deserved break is almost here — spring break.

Unlike past years when travel packages were more expensive, students can find cheap deals this year. Due to the decrease in travel demand and a dismal economy, spring break bargains are still available.

Travel Agents Incorporated is offering five nights in Honolulu, Hawaii, for $625, including airfare. For those who want to stay a little closer to home, Travelocity is offering getaways in surrounding states starting at only $35.

Although students have been warned about the dangerous situation on the Mexican border, some will still travel to Mexico, which has some of the best packages available. These include Travel Leader’s seven nights at Marival Resort & Suite in Nayarit, Mexico, for $769, including airfare.

Several travel agencies reported they are out of spring break packages, but are still offering dis-count hotels and airfare.

Travel deals can be found online at www.price-line.com, www.hotline.com and www.expedia.com.

Some students plan to use their spring break as time to just relax at home, or to accomplish tasks.

“Spring break can’t come fast enough,” said Ton-ja Nelson, Communications Lab assistant.

She said she will use spring break to move into her new house near Lake Thunderbird.

“I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed,” said educa-tion major Tiffany Rogers, who plans to spend the holiday at home with her family.

Exciting adventures close to home

H

HH

Travel packages still available, cheap

Robber’s Cave State Park — located in the woodlands of the San Bois Mountains in southeast Oklahoma, the park offers acres of enjoyment. Robber’s Cave enjoys notoriety as a former hideout for outlaws.

Park vistors can find many things to do in-cluding: boating, trails for hikers and horses, sandstone cliffs for climbing and rappelling. Lodging facilities include the Belle Starr View Lodge, cabins and two group camps. Forty-one RV sites also are available.

Robber’s Cave is located on Highway 2, north of Wilburton. The park is about 167 miles from OCCC and it takes almost three hours to drive there.

The park itself is free, and lodging begins at $87.98 per night. RV service starts at $18 per night. Tent camping costs $10 per night for each tent. For more information, call the park office at 918-465-2565.

Clear Bay Mountain Biking Trails — a loop trail with more than 11 miles to ride with more than 900 feet of elevation, located in Norman near Lake Thunderbird.

The trails are for multi-use so riders must yield to hikers. Poison Ivy and Poison Oak are abundant throughout the trail so riders and hikers should take precaution.

The main entrance to Clear Bay is on the north side of Highway 9, about 12 miles east of I-35. It’s approximately 33 miles from OCCC and takes about 45 minutes to get there.

The trails are open to the public at no cost. For more information, call 405-360-3572.

Plenty of spring break fun can be found by

staying in-state


Sports

UPCOMING OCCC

INTRAMURALSEVENTS

By Justin CombsStaff Writer

Swagga’ downed the Warriors 89-59 Feb. 27 in the Wellness Center gym, ending the regular season with a 6-0 record.

Swagga’ player Jesse Hargrove posted the first points of the game with a 3-point shot at the 19:30 minute mark in the first half.

Hargrove provided his team with another 3-point basket to keep Swagga’ ahead 6-2.

The Warriors’s Derrick Watts matched Hargrove’s shot with his own, bringing his team within one point, 6-5 at the 18:00 min-ute mark.

After trading a few possessions, Zack Pinkerton connected for a 3-point basket for the Warriors to tie the score at 8.

At 15:09 in the first half, Ben-jamin Dunn for the Warriors was fouled, giving him two free-throw shots he easily made through the basket and moved his team ahead 10-8.

The Warriors kept up the mo-mentum with Jarod Martin hit-ting a 3-point basket to maintain a lead of six.

Pinkerton shot a fade away on the side of the basket at the 13:05 minute mark gaining a 7-point lead on Swagga’ 20-13.

After falling behind, Swagga’ stormed back as Tony Carter tied the game at 23 with a fundamen-tally sound lay-up.

Carter was fouled during the play and made one of his two free throws to put Swagga’ ahead by one.

The Warriors kept hustling down the court with Martin scor-ing a 3-point basket, for a 28-24 lead.

Swagga’ came back in the clos-ing minutes of the first half to end the half ahead 35-30.

The Warriors had their hopes up after leading most of the first half.

“I think we played real good,” Pinkerton said. “We’re down by five at the half to the best team in the league and just need to keep it up in the second half.”

In the second half, Swagga’ dis-played their teamwork as Kevin McHenry stole the ball from the Warriors under their basket and charged down to his team’s end of the court. He passed over to Josh Vanover who went in for a lay up to bring Swagga’ ahead 39-30 at 17:54 in the second half.

Jeremy Phillips of Swagga’ scored back-to-back shots mak-ing it a 43-30 game with 17 min-utes remaining in the game.

The Warriors kept up their fight

as Aaron Rigsby put a 3-point shot through the basket, bring-ing his team within 10 points of Swagga’, 60-50 with 6:40 remain-ing in the game.

Swagga’ kept the Warriors at bay with Sykes making a 3-point shot advancing Swagga’ 20 points ahead 84-54 with 1:15 remaining in the game.

Although Swagga was behind most of the first half, they domi-nated the second, playing aggres-sive defense, passing the ball and communicating to clinch a 89-59 win.

“We started pushing the ball more and playing with tempo in the second half,” Sykes of the Swagga’ said. “We just started having fun and coming together.”

Staff Writer Justin Combs can be reached at [email protected].

Jump shot

Photo by Matt Bishop

• March. 12: OKC Kayak Day Trip Registration ends. For more information about Kayak Day Trip on Saturday, April 11, call Dave Lindo of OKC Kayak at 405-830-9689.

• March. 14: Saturday Morning Bike Hike to be held in Moore and is free to students. For more information, call Rec-reation and Fitness Specialist Eric Watson at 405-682-1611, ext. 7786.

• March. 25 : Intramural Flag Football meeting at noon in the Wellness Center gym. For more information, call Rec-reation and Fitness Specialist Eric Watson at 405-682-1611, ext. 7786.

• March. 27: Club Soccer plays the University of Oklahoma Colsa team at 4 p.m. here at OCCC. For more information call K.B. Yeboah at 405-255-7735.

• March. 28: Club Soccer plays Oklahoma City University at 11 a.m. here at OCCC. For more information call K.B. Yeboah at 405-255-7735.

• April. 5: Club Soccer plays Oklahoma Baptist University at 5 p.m. on the University of Central Oklahoma campus. For more information call K.B. Ye-boah at 405-255-7735.

Have a sports story idea? Call Justin Combs at

405-682-1611, ext. 7440.

Swagga’ remains undefeated

Pretty Bois’ forward Cassidy Young takes a jump shot over two defenders during a pick-up game in the Wellness Center Gym on Tuesday, March 3.

Young’s Pretty Bois are 3-2 on the season and are currently tied with The Squad for second place.

The Intramural basketball playoffs are scheduled for March 13 in the Wellness Center gym.

For more information about Intramural sports, contact Recreation and Sports specialist Eric Watson at 405-682-1611, ext. 7786.

Team dominates regular season, looks toward playoffs

Intramural Standings

6-0

3-2

3-2

3-3

1-4

0-5

Swagga’

The Squad

Pretty Bois

Free Agents

Jets

Warriors

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

RANK TEAM RECORDStay informed!

Watch the weekly Pioneer sports cast every Wednesday at



By Emily FilosaNews Writing Student

A conflict pitting a stu-dent against her professor over an essay grade drew the most audience partici-pation on opening night of the drama department’s play, “Forum Theatre Proj-ect II,” Feb. 26.

Although most volun-teers chose to take the part of the student, one audi-ence member put himself in the professor’s place.

Ten actors presented three different scenarios inspired by real life situ-ations they had experi-enced.

On Feb. 27 and 28, a dif-ferent scenario, called “The Cop in the Head,” inspired the most audience involve-ment, said Brent Noel, the-ater professor and director of the project.

“I first was introduced to this type of theater in graduate school when

we worked with different kinds of social groups,” Noel said.

“I think this is an im-portant aspect for a com-munity college, especially when we are dealing with common community prob-lems.”

The audience of about 60 sat in a semicircle around the performers on stage, analyzing each sce-nario in-depth and voicing their opinions on how the skit made them feel, which character they related to, and whom they sympa-thized with.

The actors then per-formed each scenario again and audience mem-bers were encouraged to yell out “stop” at any mo-ment they felt they would have done something dif-ferently in that situation.

“TVS,” teacher vs. stu-dent, was the scenario chosen by the audience to explore more in-depth on

the first night. It was based on an experience that an OCCC student had with one of her teachers when discussing her final grade in a class.

The student approached the teacher on the last day of the semester and asked why she received such a low grade on an eight-page argument paper.

The student pleaded with the teacher that she only needed four more points to get an A in the class, but the teacher refused to interact with the student, which resulted in the two getting in an argument.

The teacher ended the conversation by telling the student to “grow some balls” and walked out of the room. The student nev-er got her grade changed.

Once a spectator said “stop,” Noel would then say “show us how you

would do it differently, in-stead of telling us.” Audi-ence members then took the place of the performer and acted out how or what they would do differently. This forced the other ac-tors in the scenario to approach each situation differently by using impro-visation.

Morgan Hill, journalism and broadcasting student, was one of the audience members who sided with the student. Hill took over the student’s role, saying if the professor was not going to reason with her then she would take it to a higher authority, such as the dean.

“I enjoyed it because each scenario that was presented dealt with real life situations,” Hill said.

“As an audience mem-ber, I was able to watch these situations, compare them to my real life ex-periences, and then voice how I would have handled them.”

Many people said they felt the teacher was be-ing unprofessional and arrogant because he con-tinuously interrupted the student and would not ne-

gotiate with her.Christian Truelove, a

junior high math and sci-ence teacher, sided with the teacher.

In the role of the teacher, he approached the situa-tion in a more profession-al manner and reasoned more fairly with the stu-dent.

He pointed out that she could retake the course the next semester but that she would not get her grade changed simply because the essay did not meet re-quirements and did not deserve a higher grade.

“I just came to watch Christie Russell, the ac-tress who played the origi-nal student,” Truelove said. “I didn’t realize that I would be acting tonight.

“But as a teacher, that is the way I would handle that situation.”

That night, it seemed the students in the audi-ence stuck by their fel-low student in the skit, as the teachers stuck by the teacher.

At the end of the night, audience members left the theater still discussing the controversial situations presented.

Forum theater project successful with goers“I enjoyed it because

each scenario that was presented

dealt with real life situations.”

— Morgan HillOCCC Student

By W. HoyleNews Writing Student

A collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the Visual and Performing Arts Center recently when word went around that light-blocking blinds had been ordered for the building’s many classroom windows.

The building faces southeast with six classrooms on that side. Each of those classrooms has a wall that is all windows. Throughout the day the classrooms are ablaze with the morning and afternoon sunlight.

“My 11 o’clock class is baked from the heat,” said Speech Professor Julie Corff. “It does not make any sense to have all this new multimedia equipment and not be able to use to use it. The sunlight is usually so bright it makes the use of the projector difficult.”

One student said he dropped a class, partly because of the room. “I did have a Spanish class in there, but I dropped it,” said Anthony Rhodes. “It’s terrible. The sun just comes in.”

Corff said the addition of blinds will be good. Profes-sors and students alike have been wanting them since the first day of classes, Corff said.

“I think our new building is a huge blessing, unbeliev-able, high quality, high tech. The only drawback is wait-ing for our blinds,” she said.

A purchase order has been issued for the building’s blinds, said Larry Barnes, project manager.

“We hoped to have the blinds installed before the dedi-cation (on Feb. 26) but it didn’t happen,” Barnes said. Usually it takes about 30 days for items like window blinds to be delivered.

Blinds ordrered for new visual arts building


HighlightsFree Health Fair

OCCC is holding a free health fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in the College Union. Health Profes-sionals will be on hand to offer free screenings and exams, as well as nutrition tips and ways to stay healthy. Also, pedometers will be given to staff and faculty members. For more information, contact Risk Management Coordinator Lisa Vaughan at 405-682-1611, ext. 7148.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett is giving a lecture on leadership and community development in Oklahoma City from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 12, in the College Union, located in the Main Building. For more information, contact Katie Treadwell at 405-682-7523 or e-mail [email protected].

Music Students in ConcertThe Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Symphonic

Community Coir of OCCC is performing at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, in the Chapel at MidAmerica Christian University, located at S.W. 119th Street in Oklahoma City. The program will be “100 years of Broadway” a delightful selection of music from broadway shows over the last century. For more information, contact music professor Ron Staton at 405-682-1611, ext. 7249, or e-mail [email protected].

International Student Awareness Day

The Oklahoma House of Representatives is celebrating International Student Awareness day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, March 30, at the State Capitol, located at 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. The event features speakers from the Okla-homa State Government, various exhibitors, institutions and local entertainers. The International Student office invites all the interested students to register for the event at the front counter in the Records and Graduation office by Friday, March 13. For more information, contact International Stu-dent Services coordinator Sunny Garner at 405-682-7884 or e-mail [email protected].

Student Life EventsThe Student Life Office is celebrating Student Week from

Monday, March 9, to Friday, March 13. As part of their spe-cial events, Student Life will host Deal or No Deal at 12:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, in the General Dining Area. Student Life also is offering free Airbrush Tattoos from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, in the College Union. Jazz Musi-cian Maurice Johnson is giving a concert from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in the General Dining Area. For more information, contact Katie Treadwell at 405-682-7523 or e-mail [email protected].

Optimal Cover Letters WorkshopStudent Life office is hosting an Optimal Cover Letters

Workshop from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at room 1G7, located in the Main Building. Student Life also is hosting a Booze Bash Alcohol Awareness event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in the College Union. There also will be a Wellness Fair on the same day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the General Dining Area. For more information, contact Student Life Office at 405-682-1611, ext, 7523.

Open theater auditions on March 9 and 11The OCCC theater department invites students to audi-

tions for the play “The Rocky Horror Show.” Auditions will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Monday, March 9, and Wednesday, March 11, in the Bruce Owen Theater. For more information, contact theater professor Brent Noel at 405-682-1611, ext. 7246, or e-mail [email protected].

Health Professions Club to assist with Easter egg hunt

Photo by Bishal MallaPolice recruiter Lance Arnold gives information about hiring in the Norman Police

Department to Jacob Brooks, drama major, during the Spring Job Fair March 4. Norman Police Departent is hiring for an Oct. 9 academy. For more information, e-mail [email protected]. or visit www.NewNormanCops.com.

By Bishal MallaStaff Writer

An Easter Egg Hunt at a center for disabled children will allow members of the Health Professions Club to combine public service with an educational field trip, said Jessica Sack, public relation officer.

The event will take place the first week of April, she said.

Club members will visit the J.D. McCarty Center in Norman and spend time with children who have developmental disabilities, Sack said.

There are approximately 36 children at the center, said Greg Gaston, J.D. McCarty Center Markering director.

He said the number of the children varies as children get admitted and discharged.

The J.D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities is Oklahoma’s “center of excellence” in the care and treatment of children with

special needs, according to the website www.jdmc.org.

Besides the Easter egg hunt, club members will also explore the physical therapy treatment rooms and meet with therapists at the center, said Steve Kamm, physics professor and sponsor of the Health Professions Club.

He said the members of the club intend to train in some area of health professions.

“With this field trip, they will get a chance to see if they would like working with disabled children and if it is what they want to do in the future,” Kamm said in an e-mail message.

In March, the club is celebrating National Nutrition Month with the theme of “Eat Right.”

“National Nutrition Month is an education and information campaign created annually in March by the American Dietic Association,” said Nico Scheidemantel, Health Professions Club member.

She said the club is planning to coordinate with the Student Life office to do some specific events to raise awareness and provide information about nutrition month to the students.

Another event for the health sector this month is Registered Dietitian Day on March 11.

The day is celebrated to increase awareness of registered dietitians as the indispensible providers of food and nutrition services, according to the website www.eatright.org.

HPC currently has about 90 members in its club, Sack said.

She said she invites all students related to a health profession to join the club.It costs $5 to join.

For more information, e-mail Health Professions Club Public Relation officer Jessica Sack, at [email protected].

Staff Writer Bishal Malla can be reached at Staff [email protected].

Want to be a cop?


Pioneer Classified Advertising is free to all enrolled OCCC students and employees for any personal classified ad. Ads must be submitted in writing with IDs supplied or work area and college extension included. Deadline for advertising is 5 p.m. Tuesday prior to the pub-lication date. For more infor-mation, call 405-682-1611, ext. 7674, or [email protected].

FOR SALE: 2007 Honda Civic LX Sedan, black, 29,000 miles. Full warranty. Immaculate con-dition. $14,300, OBO. Call 405-250-6531, or e-mail: [email protected]

FOR SALE: 2002 Midnight blue, Mitsubishi, Lancer. 167 K miles. $3,500 OBO. Call 405-301-6814.FOR SALE: 1998 Corolla LE, 144K miles. MP3/CD player. A/C, all power, mint condition. $4,000 OBO. Call: 405-863-9982.

FOR SALE: 1998 Volkswa-gen, GOLF GTI VR6, 2 door hatchback. 129K miles. Great condition. $5,200 OBO. E-mail me at: [email protected].

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN THE OCCC PIONEER. CALL 405-682-1611. EXT. 7674

THE 2009 EDITION OF THE ABSOLUTE IS IN

THE FINAL STAGES OF PRODUCTION

Another year has gone by and with it a chance to

see your name in print. If you did not submit

your poem, story or art-work, don’t wait until No-

vember. Pick up a submis-sion form at the Arts and Humanities office, for the 2010 OCCC literary and

art journal.

APARTMENT: I have a one bedroom, Montclair Parc apart-ment to sublet. It is located at S.W. 104 and Pennsylvania Ave. The monthly rent of $700 includes electric. Available now! Call: 405-850-3619.

FOR SALE: “College Writers,” 7th Edt, $40. ”Chemistry - The Central Science,” $60. Good condition. E-mail: [email protected]. Call: 469-733-5677 FOR SALE: Textbook for “Suc-cess in College and Life” by Gardner/Jewler/Barefoot. Good condition. $20 cash only. Call 405-745-9322.

PERSONAL CARE ASSISSTANT.

8 years experience. 24 hour care.

Meal preparation.House keeping.

Errands run. “Let me care for

your loved ones.” Call Chase at: 405-521-8195.

FOR SALE: Used MP3 player. Archos 104-4Gb. $70. Call: 469-733-5677

CITY OF EDMONDSummer positions @

Pelican Bay Aquatic Center:Pool Manager,

Cashier & Cafe Managers,Cafe Staff / Cashiers,

Lifeguard Staff,Water Safety Instructors.

Golf Course, Arcadia Lake.

Parks and Recreation jobs also open.

Job info linewww.edmondok.comApply at 100 E. First,

Rm 106

Are you following us?Well, you should be.


We put the fun in fundamental news coverage.

The Pioneer staff is all a “TWITTER” about the newest addition to our media family. Visit us at: www.twitter.com/OCCCPioneer


viser, who will help guide them through the process, Cardenas-Barton said.

New students should remember to bring a high school transcript and ACT scores if they are just out of high school, she said.

New students who are transferring from another college will need an official college transcript from the one they are coming

Schneberger also employs text messaging as a tool to better communicate with his students.

“I purchased unlimited text on my cell just to be able to keep in touch with my students,” Schneberger said in an e-mail. “I regu-larly get at least 20 texts a day from students asking for more assignment help.

“They even send me parts of their essays through text, so I can give them im-mediate feedback.”

Inglett said he has also started using Twitter, which is a service for friends to communicate and stay connected through the ex-change of quick, frequent answers.

He said he doesn’t use Twitter much in the class-room, but thinks it is an excellent way for OCCC and other college campuses to keep in touch.

“If there is a play, it is simple for an institution to announce this infor-mation through Twitter, which can be sent directly to a cellular phone, if the student so chooses,” In-glett said. “Students are mobile people, and without computer access, having a Twitter placed directly on a student’s phone opens

their eyes to OCCC.”Kim said he usually tries

to avoid MySpace and Fa-cebook for college matters due to privacy laws he must adhere to.

Other professors, such as English professor David Charlson, said they think adding students as friends on Facebook and MySpace shows favoritism.

Some students think us-ing technology to enhance the classroom is a good tool and more professors should implement it.

Drake Newberry is one.“I think the idea of text

messaging your professor is kind of weird, but it could also help,” Newberry said.

“If you’re sick and miss a class, you can text your professor and ask what the assignment was.

“It’s good professors are using technology now.”

Business major Victoria Sellis said she uses Angel to talk to her professors.

“I use Angel because it’s got an e-mail system and it’s convenient,” she said. “For me, Angel is to com-municate with professors and classmates, and per-sonal e-mail is for friends and family.”

However, some students don’t like professors using technology.

“I prefer those face-to-face meetings rather than

Students, professors turn to technology “Technology,” Cont. from page 1

e-mails and messages,” Jacob Crass, nursing ma-jor, said. “It doesn’t feel as personal if you are just e-mailing the professor.”

Student Riley Kramer said he’d rather not have a professor added on his Facebook or MySpace pages.

“I’ve got personal stuff on there I sometimes don’t want the professors to see,” he said. “If they are your friend on the sites, they have the chance of seeing that, and I don’t want any bad blood between us.”

Editor Stephen Sossamon can be reached at [email protected].

Students encouraged to enroll early for better choices“Enroll,” Cont. from page 1

from. Cardenas-Barton said

she encourages students to enroll early and as soon as possible.

“That will give [students] the opportunity to build a schedule that better ac-commodates their work or family responsibilities,” she said.

“Some classes fill really quickly.”

Staff Writer Matt Bishop can be reached at Senior [email protected].

Security responds to pornography reports By Matt BishopStaff Writer

It has happened again — two more cases of patrons viewing pornography on library computers.

According to an OCCC crime report, suspects Ne-hemiah Fulton and Darrell Brown were caught view-ing pornographic material in the library Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.

It’s an ongoing issue whih the college monitors, said Campus Safety and Secu-rity Director Ike Sloas.

There are consequences for viewing inappropriate material. Security officers will file a conduct code violation on all computer

misusage incidents involv-ing students, Sloas said.

Student Development Dean Liz Largent said pun-ishment varies, depending on whether the student has previous violations with the college.

“There is no common sanction,” Largent said. “The sanctions can [range] from oral warnings to ex-pulsion.”

OCCC student Natalie Brown said she believes a college is no place to be viewing pornographic ma-terial.

“I think it’s disgusting and I would rather not walk by and see it on anybody’s computer,” Brown said. “They should lose internet

privileges at the college.”However, it’s not solely

students who view the por-nographic material.

There were three reports of people viewing porno-graphic material during February who were campus visitors.

Campus Safety and Se-curity officers will act on these individuals as well.

Visitors can receive a first and final warning on first report, Sloas said.

If the visitor is corpora-tive and apologetic, or the material viewed is of less offensive nature, they are likely to receive the first and final warning, Sloas said.

Sloas said there are in-stances when visitors will be issued a trespass warn-ing.

If the person is uncooper-ative, downloading or sav-ing the material to a disk or drive, or been apprehended for misconduct previously, the trespass warning will be given, Sloas said.

The person will be asked to leave, Sloas said.

If they choose to return, the consequences will be greater, based on state law.

“They are subject to ar-rest on sight, basically banned from the [college] for six months,” he said.

OCCC student Robert Cotter said although he doesn’t think pornography should be viewed on cam-

pus, he doesn’t believe its considered breaking the law.

“If they can view it at home legally, I can under-stand why some people might do it here,” he said.

The college’s comput-er acceptable use policy, found online at www.occc.edu, forbid the veiwing of pornography on campus computers.

Library Services Director Barbara King said the li-brary uses strict measures in monitoring computer usage.

“Library staff members regularly walk through and monitor usage,” she said.

If staff or students see a college policy violation, the staff will notify security, King said.

pioneer 2009 03 09

Documents